Security for schools, hospitals and other commercial premises

We can adapt public buildings such as schools, offices, hospitals without major structural modifications so that in the event of a crisis situation they provide protection for the people present from danger.

1. Modification of existing doors to classrooms and offices

We consider the protection of the entrance to the classroom to be an essential and priority safety measure that can actually save lives. If an attack occurs, it usually happens while students are in the classrooms. The reaction time is therefore very short and the consequences can be fatal. It is therefore essential that the teacher has a quick opportunity to secure the entrance door to the classrooms so that a potential attacker does not have an easy opportunity to enter the classroom.

That is why we offer ballistic protection for existing doors (also applies to partially glazed doors), which is a ballistic plate that ensures the bulletproofness of the door in ballistic resistance FB2 -FB4. In this context, the existing door frame construction should be assessed and, if necessary, adapted to the increased weight of the door leaf. Furthermore, the door shall be fitted with panic hardware, whereby the outside of the door will not be a handle but a ball, making it impossible for an attacker to open the door. A mechanical or electronic lock (deadbolt) is additionally installed on the inside of the door, which will be closed in the event of a declared emergency. This additional internal lock will ensure that the possibility of breaking the door is eliminated. In the event that existing classroom doors are all-glass or otherwise unsuitable for the installation of a ballistic panel, a separate ballistic door shall be installed in the interior of the classroom. These doors shall be kept open at all times and may be secured with an electronic lock that automatically disarms when an alarm is triggered and the door closes by itself. It is also possible to secure the door mechanically, i.e. the existing door remains and is in normal use, and only in the event of a crisis event will the ballistic door close (automatically or mechanically) and secure the entire classroom from forced entry. These doors are made of ballistic sheet with a minimum thickness of 6 mm, meeting ballistic resistance FB6.

Learn more about our patented doors at FortiDoors.

2. Closing sections

If the technical and structural design of the public building allows it, the building can be divided into individual sections that can be automatically closed, thus limiting the movement of the attacker to only one floor. In the locations of the individual building sections designed by us, we install new partitions with doors with ballistic protection.

3. Panic system

It is a signalling system that will sound an alarm in a given crisis situation. Panic buttons can be placed anywhere in the school premises in the required number so that an alarm can be raised from almost anywhere. When an alarm is triggered, it is followed by immediate closure of the classrooms as per the “methodology”. In this case, the perpetrator will be prevented from entering the secured classrooms and other areas of the school.

4. Input face recognition

The basic principle of protection against foreign invaders is the identification of persons entering the school building. For this purpose, we offer face recognition cameras. Due to GDPR, it will not be a matter of matching a name to a face, but only on the basis of photos supplied to the system, a person who is not recorded in the system will be denied entry. The system will always recognise the entry of an unauthorised person. An additional part of this system may be to send text messages to parents to inform them that their child has entered the school.

An integral part of this system may be turnstiles that allow an authorised person to enter the building after successful identification. The design of the turnstile may be with glass or metal panels. The camera system is supplied by the Jablotroň ﬁrm, which is the only company to have an agreement with the Police of the Czech Republic, under which the police are given on-line access to the camera system in the event of a danger, which fundamentally helps in evaluating the possibility of appropriate action against the attacker. On the basis of the authorisation granted, the police can see the situation on the spot at the current time and can thus choose the most appropriate method of intervention.

5. Weapon detection

However, if the attacker is a student, he will pass this check, but his behaviour will be recorded by the CCTV system in the corridors. A suitable complement to this camera system is the so-called “gun” system, i.e. the recognition of weapons in the hands of the attacker. Depending on the settings of the system, an alarm can then be immediately triggered, which will ensure the closure of classrooms or sections and at the same time notify the Police of the Czech Republic. It is also possible to offer a system for detecting non-standard behaviour, which is currently being tested. The camera system is connected to its own “24/7 central security console”, or to the police or other private security agency.

6. Soft Target Protection Methodology

The very first and necessary step in the proper selection of a security system is to map out the school building or public building, the normal processes and the resulting behavior. This is done using a methodology that is tailored to each school by our specialists. In this methodology, the procedure for the behaviour of pupils and school staff in the event of an emergency is then described for each classroom or set of classrooms/sections. The methodology is therefore well suited for use against attacks by terrorists, violent extremists or persons with purely criminal motivation, or even persons attacking for purely personal reasons (e.g. former employee, pupil) or persons with mental illness.